Four out of six under-50 CMs are from the BJP

The flock of 'under 50' chief ministers is growing, with monk-turned-politician Yogi Adityanath leading the pack of younger generation of leaders at the helm of as many as six states in the country.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Yogi Adityanath and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel during the swearing-in ceremony at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana cricket stadium in Lucknow, March 25, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

Youth leadership taking over the reigns of states was a rare event in the last century as very few broke through the glass ceiling.

While Adityanath (49) remains just under 50, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, 48, expanded the 'under 50' group this month to six members.

MOH Farook was the first to break the age barrier, becoming the youngest chief minister in India after he took charge of Puducherry in 1967 when he was just 29 years old.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal was 43 years old when he became chief minister of Punjab in 1970.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar announced his arrival at the forefront of Indian politics by taking charge of Maharashtra in 1978. Pawar, then with Congress-S, was 38 years old when he became the chief minister of the state heading the Progressive Democratic Front government.

Asom Gana Parishad leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in 1985 became Assam chief minister when he was 34 years old.

India in the last two decades has seen more younger political leaders rising through the ranks, with some gaining from political legacies.

National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdulla in 2009 handed over the baton to his son Omar Abdulla who became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir at 38 years of age.

The generational shift took place in the Samajwadi Party when Akhilesh Yadav took over the leadership of his party and also became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2012 when he was 38 years old.

A year later, Hemant Soren became the chief minister of Jharkhand in 2013 when he was 28 years old, with his father Shibu Soren passing on the baton of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to him.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of veteran Congress leader YS Rajsekhara Reddy, became the youngest CM of Andhra Pradesh in 2019 at 46.

The last decade has seen the arrival of a new set of leadership at the helm of states who are not hailing from leading political families.

The Aam Aadmi Party founder and bureaucrat-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal became the chief minister of Delhi when he was 45 years old.

Pema Khandu, 42, is also among the young chief ministers. He had first become the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh when he was 37 years old.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, 48, and his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami, 46, are other 'under 50' members of the group.

Out of the six 'under 50' chief ministers, four are from the Bharatiya Janta Party, and one each from the AAP and YSR Congress.